1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sliding-type portable communication device configured to slide cover portions at both sides of a housing, along with sliding another housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A portable communication device is typically defined as an electronic device with which a user, while carrying it with him, can communicate wirelessly with another party. A variety of service contents including voice call service, short message transmission, mobile banking, TV broadcasting, on-line gaming, and Video On Demand (VOD) are provided to the user through the portable communication device.
Conventional portable communication devices are largely categorized into various types. For example, the portable communication devices are classified into a bar type, a flip or folder type, and a sliding type according to their outward looks. The bar-type portable communication device is characterized by a bar-shaped housing. A flip is rotatably engaged with a bar-type housing by a hinge device in the flip-type portable communication device. A folder is rotatably engaged with a single bar-type housing by a hinge device in the folder-type portable communication device.
In the sliding-type portable communication device, two housings slide lengthwise to an open or closed state. These various portable communication devices are known to those skilled in the art.
A detailed configuration of a sliding-type portable communication device is disclosed in Korea Patent Application No. 2002-71911, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application. In the sliding-type portable communication device described in this Korean application, a sliding module is provided for sliding a pair of housings and connected to the housings, for the sliding movement.
However, despite the trend toward mobile communication service diversity and multimedia functions of a product, the conventional portable communication devices still are constructed as the folder-type or the sliding-type. Moreover, the conventional portable communication devices have limitations in satisfying user tastes in shape even though the portable communication devices have been popular and the user tastes are varied.
Conventionally, the sliding-type portable communication device is configured so that one of two facing housings slides in one direction up to half of the length of the fixed housing. Therefore, only part of the space of the fixed housing is utilized and with a small number of keys in the limited space of the housing, text writing or gaming is inconvenient.